Casualty Wiki:Manual of Style
In order to keep article style consistent, Casualty Wiki uses a Manual of Style. For information on the most basic writing techniques and styles, which are used here, see Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Project Holby As Casualty Wiki and Holby City Wiki are collaborative wikis, articles are shared across both wikis. This reduces the duplication of articles, while keeping articles at their respective wikis. Character pages are stored on the wiki of the show the character has appeared in. In the case of characters such as Nick Jordan, who have regularly stared in both shows, the character page is stored on both wikis with a link in the navbox at the bottom to their article on the other wiki. In other cases such as Jac Naylor who is a regular on Holby City but guest appeared in Casualty, her page on Casualty Wiki will only have a brief overview of her background with her information from her guest appearance on Casualty. A box should be at the top of the article to link to her main biography on Holby City Wiki. In the case that a character is mentioned in a Casualty Wiki article despite having never appeared on Casualty, the link, if there is one, should link to Holby City Wiki. When referencing characters from the opposing series, the character's name is linked to the page on the same wiki. : For example, in Casualty episode "Entry Wounds", links to Donna Jackson send the user to the Donna Jackson page on Casualty Wiki. However, her main article on Holby City Wiki can be accessed easily from there. Casualty@Holby City episodes are spread out between wikis. : For example, "Casualty@Holby City - Part One" is stored at the Casualty Wiki, and "Casualty@Holby City - Part Two" is stored at the Holby City Wiki. Article naming Deciding on the name for an article is an important decision, as is moving an article to a different title. As such, there are rules in place to ensure that articles are named in accordance with this manual of style. Episode articles For episode articles, the title generally just follows the title of the episode. However, some additional rules apply. When an episode page is created, the following words in the title don't require a capital letter unless at the start or end of the episode title: Additionally, there have been many two-part episodes across the series of Casualty and their titles vary by source (such as "Part One" or "Part 1" being added to the end). To make sure there's a continuous format throughout the wiki, all two-part episodes should be in the format of "Episode Name '''- Part One'" and for the second part, the "One" replaced with "Two". Character articles Character articles are relatively straight forward to name, more so than episode articles. For most articles, a simple first and last name is sufficient. However, there are exceptions. Characters with nicknames that aren't shortened versions of their first name should be displayed as 'First name "Nickname" Last name. When there's no nickname but their name is a shortened version of a longer name, the shorter name should generally be used. For example, Roxy Bird instead of Roxanne Bird, or Connie Beauchamp instead of Constance Beauchamp. Sometimes exceptions can be made. For example, Caleb Knight is known by all colleagues as Cal, but his name badge and other documents read Caleb. If disputed, character articles names can be disputed on a case-by-case basis. Use the parameters of the infobox (see the template page) to define their first and last appearance. For current main characters, no last appearance should be stated. For recurring guest characters who are currently appearing in regular episodes, a last appearance can also be left out. However, for guest characters or Holby City crossover characters who make infrequent appearances, a last date/episode can be added. '''Note that last doesn't necessarily mean final. All character articles should use the DEFAULTSORT function so they're organised alphabetically by surname, e.g: for Connie Beauchamp. For characters with a nickname, it's omitted for this function and their first and last name are simply entered in the order like above. Layout guide Episode article Episode articles are out of universe, and should be written from an out of universe perspective. The synopsis section includes what happens in the episode, and can be written in third person present when using verbs (e.g. does, tries, departs). Although these won't be used for every circumstance in the synopsis, they will often flow naturally with the text. The infobox to be used on episode articles is Template:EpisodeBoxNew. A screenshot from the episode should be used for the infobox, not a promotional image from the BBC; this includes images that appear on the episode's dedicated page on the official BBC website. Below is an example layout of a typical episode. In this example, the series 30 episode "Black Alert" is used. "Black Alert" is the 980th episode of Casualty and the 19th episode of... Synopsis Before the start of his shift, Ethan is standing outside the ED reflecting on the... Synopsis A full synopsis should ideally go here, but due to the time consuming nature of this task, a simple plot summary should be present. However, the summary should include key points in the episode. The summary can contain spoilers, especially after the episode has aired. Reception This subtitle is optional, and should only be used when the episode gained significantly bad or good response. For an average episode, this information can generally be summarised in the intro if needs be. Character article Character articles are in universe, and should be written from an in universe perspective. The article should be written in past tense before the "Behind the scenes" section, and when using verbs (e.g. did, tried, departed). It can sometimes be hard to stick to this as it's natural to write character articles from an episodic point of view. However, the mistakes can always be edited out at a later date. The exception to the rule of past tense is if a sentence documents a current event, or a long running fact such as "Robyn gets along with everyone in the ED". In addition, past should only be used in the first sentence for a deceased character, e.g. "Jeff Collier was a paramedic...". For a character who has just left the show but hasn't died yet, "is" is still used. The infobox used for character pages is Template:CharacterBoxNew. See the template page for further information on how they're customised. A screenshot of the character from a recent episode should be used for the infobox, not a promotional image or portrait from the BBC. Below is an example layout of a typical episode. In this example, the Casualty only character Ethan Hardy is used. He is a current character, hence the template at the bottom. |relatives=Caleb Knight (brother) Emilie Groome (biological mother)}} Ethan Hardy (born Michael; 21 November 1986 or after) is a specialist registrar who has worked at Holby City ED since 2014. The week after he joined, his...(etc) Early life At a young age, Ethan was adopted along with his older brother, Cal. Their birth...(etc) Time in the Emergency Department (2014-) Ethan had his first shift in the ED on 11 January 2014. On his first day, he arrived late due to the fact he was waiting for his brother to arrive to be with their seriously ill mother. He helped treat a school teacher with Lily in an attempt to find out what was really wrong with her. Lily was appointed...(etc) Personal life Ethan is the brother of Caleb "Cal" Knight, a co-worker and another registrar in the Emergency Department. It's unknown as to why the two have different surnames as...(etc) Trivia *Caleb Knight is his brother. *Strengths: Naturally gifted medic, strong bedside manner, makes people laugh. *Fears: Forever being seen as second best. *Ethan was adopted. Behind the scenes has portrayed Ethan since January 2014.]] George Rainsford portrays Ethan in Casualty. In the episode "Strangers" which aired on 21 November 2015, Ethan celebrated his birthday, however it's unknown...(etc) Appearances : See also: Character appearances. Ethan first appeared in the series 28 episode "Bad Timing" at the beginning of 2014. Perspective In universe If something is in universe, or is described as such, it belongs to the Holby universe exclusively and not to the real world. Characters, for example, are in universe, but the actors who play them are out of universe. In universe articles should be written from a future perspective; that is, from the perspective of someone writing after any events which take place within the Holby universe. As such, all in universe articles should be written in the past tense. On an in universe article, the only section where out of universe information is appropriate is the "Behind the scenes" section and its subsections. Out of universe information can also be included in the top section of the character infobox with simple information such as first appearance, portrayed by, etc. Chronology *Unless otherwise implied or stated, the in-universe date is the month and year the episode in which the event happened aired in. *In the case of a two-part episode where the date is not stated or implied, the airdate of the first episode is used. *In either of the two cases, this date should not be mentioned in the chronology section of the episode article, as there is no firm proof. *Exceptions can be made to this rule such as the series 30 finale "Sticks and Stones" airing in July, but clearly takes place nearer to September. As "Too Old for This Shift" picks up from where it left off, "Sticks and Stones" can be assumed to take place on the airdate of "Too Old for This Shift". Additionally, the episode following "Too Old for This Shift" can be assumed to take place on its own airdate (3 September) and wouldn't fit in with the chronology if the previous events had taken place in late July. Out of universe Out of universe refers to the perspective in which an article is written; it is the opposite of in-universe. Something written from an out of universe perspective is written from a real-life point of view. It will refer, for example, to real-life publications, actors, authors, events, episodes, and so on, acknowledging that its subject is fictional. Examples of out of universe articles include episode articles, series articles, and character lists. All out of universe articles should use the Template:Oou at the top to inform readers that it doesn't cover an in-universe topic. This generates a small globe icon which slots in above the article space on the top right hand side of the article. 'Non-canon' Some episodes and special episodes are non-canon, and therefore should be marked as such. If an article is non-canon, it should use the notcanon addition to the eras template. Used in conjunction with the oou template, simply enter at the top of the article: This will generate both the oou globe and an icon to show the events are non-canon. Headings Use the (heading) markup for headings, not the ' ('bold') markup. Example: : This is a heading If you mark headings this way, a table of contents is automatically generated from the headings in an article. Sections can be automatically numbered for users with that preference set and words within properly marked headings are given greater weight in searches. Headings also help readers by breaking up the text and outlining the article. Avoid using links within headings, avoid overuse of sub-headings. Usage and spelling Casualty Wiki is written using British English spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage. When referring to numbers, spell out numbers below 10 and use figures for numbers 10 and above. An exception to this is when referring to series; series 1 should always be written as 'series 1'. Sentences should never start with a number unless referring to a year. Lists are also sometimes exempt from the numbering rule, such as in a list of characters. The following extract is taken from the series 32 page: *Lloyd Everitt as Jez Andrews (until episode 2) Note that 'two' is written in the numeral form on this occasion. However, in a main body of text, the word 'two' should be used. For example: 'Lloyd Everitt made his final appearance as Jez Andrews in episode two of the 32nd series.' Similarly, spell out 'first' to 'ninth', but use figures for 10th and above. Series 1 would be written as the '1st series', due to the fact series don't follow the typical style rules. Note also that 'series' doesn't require a capital letter. Referencing episodes When mentioning a particular episode, link the episode name to its article, and surround it with quotation marks. Example: :"Partners" which produces: :"Partners" Subsequent mentions in the same article should only be surrounded in quotation marks, and should not be linked. Italics Italics should be used whenever the shows ''Casualty, Holby City or HolbyBlue are mentioned. As well as making it clear which show an article is referring to, it also differentiates the terms fron 'Casualty Wiki' and 'Holby City Wiki'. Linking A subject should be linked once upon its first appearance in the article's infobox, once upon its first mention in the article's intro, and once upon its first mention in the article's main body. Interwiki links Due to the integration of Casualty Wiki and Holby City Wiki, special interwiki links have been created in order to keep articles clear of code when editing. When linking to Holby City Wiki from Casualty Wiki, use hc: as a link prefix. Example: :Donna Jackson which produces: :Donna Jackson Episode numbering Due to inconsistencies with overall episode numbering across different sources, the numbering system for Casualty Wiki is as follows: *Episodes are numbered in order of their airdate. *Additional mini-episodes such as "The Parting of the Ways" are unnumbered. *Upon the 1000th episode airing in July 2016, it was confirmed that Casualty Wiki's numbering system was correct. *Confusion arose during series 31 when the series was revealed to have been commissioned for 45 episodes, but only 44 aired. This was due to "Too Old for This Shift" originally being two episodes, later merged into one long feature-length. Wikipedia cites series 31 as having 45 episodes, whereas Casualty Central and the official BBC site note it having 44. Ordering content Across the wiki, various pages with lists and data are stored, and therefore there is a requirement for a go-to order for all occurrences of a particular sequence. In infoboxes For certain sections in infoboxes, there's a rule of order which must be applied to prevent local disputes. One of these is that guest cast lists in infoboxes must be in the order that they appear in the official episode credits. In character infoboxes, the parents section should always be the father, then a line break, then mother. The order for other relatives is slightly more complex. The general rule of order is: *Brothers and sisters (ordered by age) *Half-siblings (ordered by age) *Uncles and aunts (uncles then aunts) *Cousins (ordered by age) *Grandchildren (ordered by age) *Step-parents (fathers then mothers) *Step-siblings (ordered by age) *Step-children (ordered by age) *Parental in-laws (father then mother) *Sibling in-laws (brothers then sisters) *Children in-laws (ordered by age) For the children section, they're simply ordered by age. No mention of the child's other parent is necessary if it isn't clear already as that information can be covered in the main article to prevent infobox crowding. If possible, their year of birth should also be in brackets to show the order. In general For current characters and series cast lists, characters are ordered by: *Clinical Lead(s) *Deputy Clinical Lead(s) *Consultants *Registrars *Junior doctors *Clinical nurse manager(s) *Senior nurses *Nurses *Paramedics *Porters *Receptionists Refined even more, characters within the same occupation are sorted into how long they've appeared in that role. Note that this doesn't necessarily directly relate to their duration on the show. For example, Louise has been on the show as a regular for over four months longer than Robyn, but because she only took on the role of a nurse in 2015, Robyn is by default listed above her. Note: This above rule is only for when the current characters are listed. When all characters of an occupation are listed like in navboxes (see above), they're ordered by surname. Manual of Style Category:Site administration